Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups.
Mark's latest book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award.
He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean, previous Shingo recipients.
Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.
The Challenge of PDSA: Feeling Like You’ve Fallen Short
Mark's note: Today's post is by Cristal Totterman, a pharmacist and Lean leader I have known for a couple of years now. She's written a post that made me think about and reflect on the never-ending journey of improvement, both as individuals and organizations.
Your “Lean Daily Management” Approach Would Be Even Better with Some...
Here is an article that I wrote and published on LinkedIn on Tuesday on the topic of managing metrics in a better, less wasteful, less frustrating, and more productive manner.
Who Are Your “Decision Makers?”
I was at an organization recently where one of the relatively senior leaders kept using a curious phrase that made my ears perk up. The senior executives were continually being referred to as "the decision makers." Why can't everybody be a decision maker?
Meeting A Professional Hero: Donald J. Wheeler, PhD, of “Understanding Variation”
I recently got to meet Prof. Donald J. Wheeler when he gave a keynote talk at the Society for Health Systems Conference. Check out his book Understanding Variation and learn more about him in this post.
New White Paper: “#Lean for Doctors”
I'm happy to share a link to a white paper that I co-authored for Catalysis (formerly the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value). The paper is titled: "Lean for Doctors." It's co-authored with Dr. John Toussaint and Dr. Jack Billi.
Throwback: Don’t Blame the Kicker, Don’t Blame the Oscar Presenter, and...
Today's Post in <50 words: Lean thinkers don't blame individuals who are in a bad system, whether that's a presenter at Oscars, a kicker in a football game, or a healthcare professional in a hospital.
Personal Kaizen: How I Reduced Effort & Time in Scheduling Phone...
In today's post, I write about how Kaizen starts with you. I share some examples of "personal Kaizen," including the way I've streamlined my call scheduling process, for my benefit and for others.
Podcast #276 – Andy Sheppard, #Lean, Change Management & More
My guest for Episode #276 is a Lean consultant (although he might not prefer that term) and an author, A J (Andy) Sheppard. Andy is the author of The Incredible Transformation of Gregory Todd: A Novel about Leadership and Managing Change and also contributed a chapter to my Practicing Lean book project.
Learning & Emulating Without Copying Blindly from Duke Hoops, Toyota, or...
While I'm writing here about Northwestern men's basketball learning from Duke (without copying everything), the same ideas apply if you're Ford learning from Toyota or a hospital learning from ThedaCare.
What Did People Want to Talk About? Open Space & #Lean...
Yesterday, Isaac Mitchell and I asked a group of Society for Health Systems Conference attendees what they wanted to talk about with peers and colleagues in the room. Here’s that list and how the discussion was structured…
#TBT: Past Posts About the Society for Health Systems
Today is the start of the main days of the annual Society for Health Systems Conference. I think this is my 9th year attending out of the past 11 or so. Follow the action on Twitter using hashtag #SHS2017. Here are a few posts from the past conferences:
Do We Want The Same Results?
Thanks to Sam Selay for today's guest post. Although he's writing about the government and the military, I think you'll find it interesting regardless of your industry. Read an excerpt from Sam's chapter of Practicing Lean.
